Bottom line: A lot of the grass that ranchers use to graze their cattle has dried up. It's so bad that the Texas Department of Agriculture has set up a Hay Hotline for desperate ranchers that need to feed their herds.

If a rancher can't get that kind of assistance, they'll be forced to buy expensive feed.

If they can't afford that, they have to decrease the size of their herds.

That means cheap beef for now. However once that supply is depleted, American ranchers will be left with a smaller supply in general, and because demand is still strong the price will likely shoot up.